Yin & Yang Pleasures of Cultivation

"Hoh? Is that so?" There was heavy doubt lacing Aniela's tone. 

This time it wasn't about her innate dislike for Ninu. She genuinely couldn't believe any treasure could instantly take them to the next level.

Just to reach the Heavenly Transformation realm, she and Darcel needed an overabundance of resources and spent nearly all of their time cultivating in their Mystical Aura State. 

If it was any other cultivator, even if they were a genius that similarly required more Qi energy for breakthroughs, their cultivation still would've soared. 

But for Aniela and Darcel, they could only cross over two levels.

At this point, Aniela could truly regard her cultivation as another level separate from even geniuses.  So it was understandable why she had such skepticism about instantly reaching the next level.

The skepticism was also shared with Darcel and Masami.

But when Masami was just about to open her up mouth to make similar doubts, Darcel matched his gaze with Aniela, telling her, 

"I know we all have our doubts. But still, take it. Maybe we can really see a miracle."

With everything they've been shown so far, Darcel could faintly tell there's something more to Ninu than being just a mere Darkness Servant. He had a guess that she perhaps could genuinely be helpful to them far out in the future.

However, he kept his thoughts hidden for now. With the girl's feelings, there wasn't any way they would accept this idea as of now. 

Even now, Darcel can still sense the faint sourness swirling within Aniela and Masami's souls.

Still, no matter what they felt at this moment, the girls chose to be quiet. In the end, they would always listen to Darcel, so both Aniela and Masami suppressed their doubts. 

And as Masami quietly huffed, Aniela walked in front of Ninu, promptly inspecting the Ice crystal core. 

Upclose, she could see vague strange-looking patterns running along its surface. The patterns weren't anything like she had seen before, almost looking at some kind of alien language. 

Just from looks alone, Aniela could feel her intrigue rise. Then, after only a moment of hesitation, she took hold of Ice crystal core.

"Mn!" Immediately, her tiny brows jumped in shock! 

Actually touching the Ice crystal core, Aniela could feel there was far more rich Qi energy than she initially thought. Her Spirit Sense couldn't even detect the rich layers of this Qi energy!

Without any hesitation, Aniela began absorbing the Ice crystal core. Rich Qi's energy swiftly ran through her Spirit Sense like a colossal tidal wave before refining into her body.

'Mother of Angels! She really wasn't kidding!' Aniela truly couldn't contain her waves of surprise. 

This Qi energy was at a boundary she never felt before! No Qi Haven or Mystical Aura state could compare to this.

In just seconds, Aniela felt her Heavenly Core rapidly strengthening by an absurd degree. The Ice crystal core Qi energy flowed into Aniela's Magical Dantian Space like a vortex, quickly pushing her Heavenly Core to the next level.

During this time, Aniela expected some form of mental block to try and halt her progression. 

Of course, no matter what mental block it is, it wouldn't matter at all with Aniela's comprehension.

However, entirely against Aniela's expectations, no mental blocks formed within her mental psyche! If it went on just like this, Aniela started to believe that she could actually breakthrough!

And it was at that moment, Ninu's image flashed in her mind. 

'Ah! So she really wasn't overselling this treasure. Even for treasures, everything still depends on one comprehension. Ninu's aura is perfectly stable, so that would only mean….this treasure can completely bypass mental blocks!'

Aniela's body shook from the rich energy running through her and this surprising revelation. 

It's known that no matter how much abundance of energy cultivation resources has, there's still the risk of a cultivator gaining a shaking foundation.

Cultivation resources indeed have the ability to forcefully break through mental blocks, allowing a cultivator to easily reach the next level. 

However, their foundation would increasingly turn shaky.

With every mental block forcefully skipped, a cultivator is essentially skipping past enhancing their Spirit Sense. This can make it potentially problematic for a cultivator to achieve future breakthroughs on their own.

Furthermore, many cultivation resources are ridden with hidden impurities that can disrupt a cultivator's foundation. Too many hidden impurities can also impede a cultivator from reaching new levels.

With these two factors, even if a cultivator achieves rapid levels, their combat prowess would be weak against others on the same level. 

Only really rare cultivation resources carried none of these hidden impurities. If a treasure is made up entirely of Heaven and Earth's Origin energy, there would be no complicated hidden impurities.

And these Ice crystal cores fell under this category, strengthening Aniela's Heavenly Core as if she was just regularly cultivating. 

Moreover, even though it's unnecessary for her, Aniela's comprehension would also experience zero negative effects.

Indeed, this could be called the perfect treasure! 

And something like this was just somewhere underground? 

For a brief moment, suspicion started to rise within Aniela's mind. Something so perfect most definitely has suspicious or even dangerous origins. 

Aniela even thought of trying to seek out this cave just in case trouble arises from taking these Ice crystal cores.

However, these were all ideas for the future. 

Aniela pushed everything else out of her mind. She focused entirely on absorbing every bit of the Ice crystal core. Her Heavenly Core was like a greedy vacuum, taking every drop of Qi energy without a single problem.

As the seconds trickled by, the Ice crystal core gradually shrunk in size. And at the same time, Aniela's Heavenly Aura rapidly rose. 

On the outside, Darcel and Masami were, of course, surprise and intrigue. 

Their Spirit Senses never left off Aniela for a second. So it came as a considerable shock detecting that Aniela was making more progress in cultivation than they could in weeks! 

"Hey Darcel, you don't think-" 

Whatever Masami was about to say got caught in her throat. Before she could finish her sentence, Aniela's Heavenly Aura reached a tipping point!

She reached the peak of first level Heavenly Transformation in just a few moments. Now, she was a mere fine line away from the second level. 

At this point, the time needed to breakthrough would be the longest.

Darcel and Masami were in budding disbelief. In just a few seconds, is she really going to? 

And right as the duo thought so, an powerful energy flooded out of Aniela's body. 

'Hua~!' 

After only a few seconds, Aniela's Heavenly Aura reached a quantitive change.

Her power swept across the whole room, causing chilling breezes to warp the entire space. Finally, Aniela's Heavenly Aura completely broke away from the first level, directly stepping into the second level!

Within just seconds, Aniela reached the second level of the Heavenly Transformation realm! 

"Oh wow! That was far faster than me; congratulation, Mistress! Your cultivation talent never ceases to surprise me."

Ninu promptly expresses her praise. She honestly didn't find anything that abnormal about the rate Aniela absorbed the Ice crystal core. Thinking that this was only natural for a genius, she didn't think too deeply about her speed.

At that moment, the Ice crystal core on Aniela's had vanished. 

Aniela flung her eyes wide open. Shock and joy filled her face as she basked in the feeling of achieving a breakthrough already.

After only a moment, Aniela shot her gaze towards Darcel and Masami and promptly became assumed by their bewildered statures. 

With the broadest of smiles, she told the duo, "It works! It works far better than anything we've attempted before! So quickly, you too absorb this core as well." 

At her words, it snapped Darcel and Masami out of their stupors. After that, they didn't need to say anything else.

Swift like the wind, Darcel and Masami took hold of the remaining Ice crystal core. In an instant, they both began rapidly absorbing the Qi energy straight into their Magical Heavenly Dantians.

And just like Aniela, their Heavenly Cores rapidly strengthen at an abnormal rate. Their Heavenly Auras soared, speedily approaching the next level. 

Then, in just a few seconds, Darcel and Masami's bodies violently shook.

'Hua~!' 

Powerful waves of Heavenly Qi gushed out Darcel and Masami's bodies like a whirlpool. Their Aura momentum matched with Aniela's, causing slight tears in the spatial zone.

In the same amount of time, Darcel and Masami reached the second level of the Heavenly Transformation realm! 

Great powers filled their veins as their joints crackled with pure, rich Qi energy.

At that moment, Masami's Heavenly Aura stopped climbing. Her cultivation remained stable and firm in the second level without a trace of impurity. 

Masami was undoubtedly surprised and excited. With the vigorous energy she's feeling now, she wanted to unleash her fiery might on a worthy opponent! 

But, while Masami's and Aniela's Heavenly Aura stopped at the second level, Darcel only continued to rise.

Compared to the girls, Darcel only needed half of the Ice crystal core Qi energy to reach the second level. And of course, since he had no real reason to stop, Darcel continued absorbing the remaining rich Qi energy.

In just another few seconds, Darcel's body shook again, and a higher Heavenly Aura exuded out from him. 

Now, Darcel's Heavenly Aura surpassed both Aniela and Masami.

"Hm?! This guy, are you serious?/ Ohh! Always breaking expectations Darcy!" 

Masami's slightly exasperated voice overlapped with Aniela's eager tone. They and even Ninu were in slight disbelief.

Darcel had just reached the third level of the Heavenly Transformation realm! Unfortunately, though, after gaining this level, his Heavenly Aura firmly stopped.

Under Aniela, Masami, and Ninu's intent gazes, Darcel slowly opened his eyes. 

A flash of Darkness streaked in his eyes, emitting a strange yet hypnotic might. Right then, a pleased smile curved up Darcel's lips.